Documenting an Evolving Castle: 2017-2019 Preservation Praxis at Powderham

Powderham Castle is located south of Exeter on the banks of the River Exe in Devon, England. The 3500-acre site, comprised of a remarkable assemblage of historic buildings and landscapes, has remained in private ownership by the same family for 600 years, yet received little study to date. In 2017 and 2018, students and faculty from the Historic Preservation Program at PennDesign, in collaboration with the University of Plymouth and the Earl of Devon, completed documentation on the medieval and 18th-century portions of the Castle. Plymouth Professors Daniel Maudlin and James Daybell, who saw an opportunity to bring together scholarly expertise in a collaborative model that merged architectural history, conservation, social and cultural history, and landscape studies, initiated the project.

In May 2019, an intensive on-site studio will use international conservation standards and design to develop a Conservation Statement for the Castle Precinct which reflects its diverse historic and entrepreneurial values. This capstone studio for the Master of Design in Historic Preservation program will also be open to students in and graduates of the MSHP program. 

The collaborations, the 2019 course, and the way in which Penn’s original research enriches the understanding of the Castle’s physical and social evolution will be discussed by: Laura Keim, Lecturer in Historic Preservation; Pamela Hawkes, Professor of Practice in Historic Preservation; and Starr Herr-Cardillo, Research Associate, Architectural Conservation Center.